Three new playable characters including Ayane from Dead Or Alive, Momiji from Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword and series favourite, Rachel.

Gameplay differs each time you appear in a level as enemies engage in a variety of different actions assessing your game skills.

Co-operative play in over 30 different stages featuring special missions.

Knowing your ninja

Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 follows the legendary hero and master ninja, Ryu Hayabusa, one year after the events of developer Team Ninja's last title in the series. The despicable Black Ninja Spiders have attacked Ryu's family village in an effort to steal their sacred Demon Statue and wipe out the master ninja's clan.

Ryu's quest takes him across various locations from Tokyo to Venice, to stop the Black Ninja Spiders. And he isn't entirely alone on his travels either, as he's eventually joined by three new playable characters, the purple haired Ayane from beat ‘em up Dead Or Alive, Momiji from Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword and series favourite, Rachel - each with their own fighting style and missions.

Initially you're given two difficulty settings, the normal/easy Path of the Acolyte and the harder Path of the Warrior, which states "in the life of a true ninja, every day brings one closer to death". Dare you take up the challenge of a master ninja?

The look of death

Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 impresses with glossy visuals that look as sharp as Ryu's blade. Characters are animated smoothly (complete with nice incidental touches, such as Ryu flicking off any demon blood from his weapons) and fit perfectly within the beautiful settings, which include a foreboding Tokyo at night, and a gloomy, rain-drenched New York. No matter where you may fight, everything looks convincing and creates an atmosphere that envelops you in the action.

The fantasy and horror inspired baddies capture the imagination, each with a unique way of moving and attacking, making them as much fun to watch as they are to fight. There is also good use of a comic book style opening, followed by high quality cinematics that bookmark the story's progression.

A filmic music score and appropriately meaty sound effects round off the game's impressive presentation, making sure you can hear all of the cries and clashes of battle as well as see the results of your vengeful quest.

Live by the sword, die by the sword

Swift, silent, deadly - those are the qualities of any true ninja, and Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 lets you indulge them to the fullest. Ryu is a diverse and powerful character, capable of a number of slick moves and techniques. Running up and across walls is no problem, neither is sprinting on water, performing flips and pirouettes or bouncing off enemies' heads with superhuman speed. And when called into battle, the ninja can slice and dice with a myriad of weapons, including his legendary Dragon Sword katana, the Lunar Staff, and shuriken throwing stars.

Each of Ryu's main weapons has a large number of moves and the ability to upgrade, giving you a vast array of ways to dispatch your foes. There's also powerful magic to use in the shape of Ninpo, which can engulf your targets in flames and slice nearby foes with wind blades, among other spectacular effects.

When all of these things are combined with Ryu's breathtaking agility, you really do feel like a skilled ninja, resulting in a deadly range of attacks, which can lead to the decapitation of your supernatural enemies. It pays to be cautious, however - as you get further into the game, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 rewards careful, considered play and punishes button bashing, so blocking and combination work are essential to succeed, especially when tackling some of the bosses which can span the entire screen with their intimidating size.

Team: ninja

Along with its engaging single player story, there are also the co-operative Team Missions to enjoy, pitting you against the odds in over 30 scenarios where you must defeat all the enemies in a stage. Going offline will throw you into the arena with a computer-controlled player, while jumping online means you can get a friend to take the reins of your partner as you aim to survive the oncoming onslaught of beasts while looking to kill more than your cohort.

With the chance to choose from different characters, weapons, costume and magic, as well as uploading your monster-smashing stats online (which also tracks other records, such as your favoured weapon and longest combos) there's a lot to do in the Team Missions to keep you and a friend occupied.

If you fancy a taste of Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, give the exciting and exclusive demo a try on PlayStation Network.